10 Idiotic Things Said or Done About “Gun control”

A Brief History

On September 15, 1966, in a reaction to the “Texas Sniper” mass shooting at the University of Texas on August 1, 1966, President Lyndon Johnson addressed Congress and asked for the passage of what became the Gun Control Act of 1968, a legislative measure that in no way, shape, or form, could have prevented the Texas Sniper incident, and for that matter, probably any other illegal shooting. Here we list 10 extraordinarily stupid things said or done in the name of “gun control.” (Note: The list of erroneous or downright idiotic things anti-gunners say about guns and gun control is endless and has no limits to the depths of stupidity. Often, they seem to have no idea about what gun laws are already in existence, they just know they want more, no matter how ridiculous or how much they have no affect on ameliorating the gun violence problems extant.)

Digging Deeper

1. Barack Obama, “Easier to get a gun than a book,” 2016.

President Obama was strangely silent about guns during his run for the Presidency in 2008, and remained so during his first term, when he had to face reelection. During his second term, not feeling the pressure of facing an election, Obama reverted to his pre-presidential virulent anti-gun position. In Dallas he made a speech in which the actual quote was, “It is easier for a teenager to buy a Glock than to get his hands on a computer or even a book.” The President’s speech was in response to the murder of 5 Dallas police officers by an irate African American man enraged and inflamed over the presentation of police shootings by the media and politicians that led him to believe police across the country were murdering Black men and boys. In fact, only 32% of Americans have at least 1 gun or live with someone that owns a firearm (per CBS). On the other hand, 84% of American households had a computer in 2014 (Pew Research), presumably higher today. Plus, virtually all schools and libraries have computers today, making access to computers for teens nearly universal. To think it is easier to buy a Glock (popular brand of pistol) than get ahold of a book is so idiotic it does not need addressing.

2. Joe Biden, “…put that double-barrel shotgun and fire two shots outside the house,” 2013.

In Facebook advice to his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, about protecting herself in her home, the Vice President of the United States proudly told the nation that he told her, “…just walk out on the balcony here, walk out and put that double-barrel shotgun and fire two shots outside the house.” Does this mean a lady in a Chicago project should “just” do exactly that? Not even in Delaware (where Biden lives)! This moronic advice would get most Americans thrown in jail. Biden went on to say, “You don’t need an AR-15- it’s harder to aim. It’s harder to use and in fact you don’t need 30 rounds to protect yourself. Buy a shotgun! Buy a shotgun!” Once again, someone that knows” virtually nothing about guns and the law is giving advice to the public on a massive stage. An AR-15 is easy to aim, easy to use, and you just might need 30 rounds to protect yourself. You will never know until the time comes. On the other hand, telling people to buy a shotgun is good advice.

Note: Further information from Joe Biden to the American public about the technical capabilities of certain firearms include the following idiotic quotes: “Joe Biden Says 9mm Bullet ‘Blows The Lung Out of The Body” (Newsweek, May 31, 2022) and “Do you realize the bullet out of an AR-15 travels five times as rapidly as a bullet shot out of any other gun, five times… ?” (In his August 22, 2022 “Safer America Plan.”) The 9mm cannot blow the lungs out of a person and the AR-15 neither fires a bullet 5 times speedier than any other gun nor at a rate 5 times faster than any other gun.

Another link to more Biden misunderstanding about guns.

3. Hillary Clinton, “90 people a day die of gun violence in our country.”

Hillary and many other gun control advocates often claim somewhere between 33,000 and 40,000+ victims die of “gun violence” every year in the US, sometimes mistakenly using the word “murder.” In fact, about 11,000 people in the US are murdered with guns each year, and the other 22,000 people that die from gunshot wounds are suicides (mostly) and accident victims. This includes people lawfully shot by police or armed citizens in self-defense or in defense of an innocent person. A common tactic of gun control advocates is to mislead their audience through misrepresentation of facts.

4. Gregory Paw, “The only thing that comes out of this weapon is evil,” 2007.

Paw, the director of the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice was speaking about an attempt to pass a law against civilian ownership of .50 caliber rifles. We use him of just 1 example of a jillion anti-gun politicians to claim that .50 caliber rifles are too dangerous for the public to own. Used by the military for long range sniping, rifles chambered in .50 BMG have become popular (though expensive) rifles for long range shooting competitions. They are commonly way too expensive (usually $3000 to $12,000 apiece) and heavy/bulky (commonly 25-30 pounds) for use by criminals, and have not yet been used for any murder in the US I am aware of. Worse, you frequently hear the IDIOTIC claim that “They can take down an airliner!” Obviously, ignorant people not familiar with guns are thinking of the .50 caliber machine gun, and taking down an airliner with a sniper rifle of any normal rifle caliber is next to impossible. The assertion is stupid, and so is anyone that repeats it! Besides, weapons are not “evil,” people are. This topic is one more example of why “people control” is more important than “gun control.”

5. Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, et al, “Universal Background Checks,” 1996-Present.

Over and over you hear various politicians, activists (often Hollywood people), or “gun control” organizations demand “universal background checks” for all gun sales and transfers, even from father to son (or daughter), gifts, and any other such transfer, especially gun shows. The problem with this idea is that the government already screens the vast majority of gun sales through licensed dealers, and the background check system stops roughly 150,000 potential gun sales to felons and other prohibited people each year, and yet an incredibly small number of those caught are prosecuted, around 40-50 (Federal prosecutions) per year! Wow, if we enforced the laws already on the books, starting with prosecuting people that are not allowed to buy guns (felons, fugitives, drug addicts, mentally ill, etc) we might not need new laws that do nothing to stop real gun violence. The second part of this troubling idea is that “universal background checks” require “universal gun registration” or else it could not possibly work. If every single gun in the US was not registered, how would the government know if a brother gave his shotgun to his other brother? See? Why is universal gun registration such a contentious topic? Because every single country that ever instituted gun registration ended up confiscating privately owned guns, either totally or at least certain types. This wrong thinking idea of “universal background checks” is closely related to the totally wrong “gun show loophole” and “online loophole” myths. There are no such loopholes. Federal Firearms License holders are required to run background checks for all sales whether they are at a gun show, online, or at their store. Private party sales do not require a background check. Guns sold across state lines can only be transferred to an FFL holder, so you can’t just order guns on the Internet and have them sent to you. They must go to an FFL holder who will give you your new gun only after you pass a background check.

6. Senator Diane Feinstein, et al, “Assault weapons must be banned,” 2013.

We hear this one over and over from the Washington Post, other anti-gun media sources, anti-gun advocacy groups, and prominent politicians, as well as Hollywood personalities (as if they are weapons experts!). The problem with this goofy logic is that they do not know what an assault weapon is. An assault weapon is a rifle caliber hand held weapon that can fire on full automatic and semi-automatic modes, such as the military version of the M-16 and AK-47. Weapons that look like military guns are not assault weapons if they cannot fire on full automatic mode (machine gun). Guns that fire pistol caliber bullets and/or only fire in the semi-automatic mode are not assault weapons. Linking weapons features such as a bayonet lug (ever hear a murderer bayonet people?), a pistol grip (how the heck does that hurt anyone? And besides, the M-14 does not have a pistol grip), a barrel shroud (seriously, now we are saying a barrel shroud makes a gun dangerous???), or a threaded barrel (often used for attaching a flash suppressor, a muzzle brake, or a sound suppressor). Then there is the idea that a magazine of more than 10 rounds is extra dangerous if possessed by the public. The public already has tens of millions of high capacity (more than 10 rounds) magazines, with something less than a tiny fraction (1 fifth of 1% of all violent crimes, and about 1% of gun crimes) of a percent ever being used illegally. This idea is political grandstanding and has nothing to do with reality. President Clinton’s ban on sales of guns he called “assault weapons” and magazines over 10 rounds capacity did virtually NOTHING to change crime and murder in the US. When that ban ended in 2004, crime has actually been going down ever since, despite certain high profile cases. Another idiotic statement frequently spouted by gun controllers is that “assault weapons” are “more powerful” than “normal guns.” No, they are not. In fact, real assault weapons such as the M-16 in 5.56mm caliber and the AK-47 in 7.62X39mm caliber fire much less powerful rounds than typical deer hunting rifles in 30.06 caliber. Again, ignorance with absolutely no desire to learn anything about guns before making sweeping, incorrect statements.

7. Hillary Clinton, “The Supreme Court is wrong on the Second Amendment,” 2015.

During her campaign for President in 2015 an audio tape surfaced with Clinton claiming the US Supreme Court “got it wrong” on the issue of the Second Amendment in the Heller Case. When confronted with this audio, she confirmed her opinion that the Supreme Court was wrong to assume the Second Amendment guaranteed the right of people to own a handgun for defense of themselves and their home. She is wrong! Although the wording of the Second Amendment confuses some people with its reference to “militia,” if you read the Federalist Papers and other writings by the Founding Fathers their intent to allow common citizens the right to be armed is clear. Only ignorance of actual American History or willful disregard of the intentions of the Founding Fathers would lead Hillary or anyone to the mistaken impression that the Second Amendment does not apply to private citizens.

8. Diane Feinstein, Hillary Clinton, et al, “People on the Terrorist Watch List should not be allowed to buy guns,” 2016.

The FBI maintains a list of known or suspected terrorists, but the list of 60,000+ people contains many persons who are on it just because their name may be the same as a real suspect, or perhaps the same as a suspected terrorist’s alias. Also called the “No fly list” because these people are also forbidden from flying on airliners, the list includes many people mistakenly included on the list. The proposed ban on these people from purchasing guns does not include a swift and reasonable appeals process, leaving those mistakenly included without due process to get off the list. Plus, you would not know you are on the list until you are denied the opportunity to buy a plane ticket or buy a gun. It is the lack of due process that the NRA (National Rifle Association) and other gun rights advocates cite when opposing such legislation proposed by Senator Feinstein. Feinstein’s proposal would have included an incredible 1.1 million people on the “no gun” list! (per USA Today) Even the normally liberal ACLU agrees with the NRA that the lack of due process is a disqualifying aspect of the watch list idea, saying that the system used to list “suspected terrorists” leaves “no meaningful way to clear one’s name and get off the list.” Although Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy was not on the “No fly list,” he was apparently mistaken for someone who was (a suspect that used an alias, “T. Kennedy”), and suffered inconvenience and embarrassment when initially told he could not fly on a commercial flight! Turns out a couple of California State Senators were mistakenly included on the “No fly list.” US Representative, Congressman John Lewis spent a year on the “No fly list,” and incredibly he was an advocate of “No fly, No buy!” What seems like “common sense” is not always so when it comes to gun control.

9. Diana DeGette, “…the number of these high capacity magazines is going to decrease dramatically over time because the bullets will have been shot…”

Holy crap! This US Representative from Colorado is trying to get a national ban against magazines of more than 10 rounds capacity, She actually thinks magazines are loaded with bullets and after the bullets are fired the magazine is useless. She does not (or did not) know that magazines are simply refilled with ammunition time after time. “I will tell you these are ammunition, they’re bullets, so the people who have those now they’re going to shoot them, so if you ban them in the future, the number of these high-capacity magazines is going to decrease dramatically over time because the bullets will have been shot and there won’t be any more available,” she said, according to the Denver Post. OMG! This is the sort of ignorance of guns and ammunition that people making laws about guns display in public. And what did Senator Feinstein say about high capacity magazines? The even dumber line, ““We have federal regulations and state laws that prohibit hunting ducks with more than three rounds. And yet it’s legal to hunt humans with 15-round, 30-round, even 150-round magazines.” Sorry lady, IT IS NOT LEGAL TO HUNT HUMANS! Again, idiotic hysterical baloney, and they wonder why they can’t get their agenda passed.

10. Rejina Sincic, “Take your mom’s gun and turn it in to your teacher,” 2015.

This suggestion is the gist of advice directed at schoolchildren! Because apparently it is a good idea to encourage little kids to root around and find their parent’s gun and take it to school. This moronic direction appeared in a Public Service Announcement television commercial from the spokeswoman for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. Wow! Do they even think before they spout off about guns? The video shows a kid going through his mother’s dresser drawer, taking her gun (no idea if the pistol is loaded, safety on, nothing!), putting it into his back pack and taking it to school. Once in class, he waits until after class then approached the teacher, pulls out the pistol to her alarm, and plunks the handgun on the desk in front of the teacher saying, “Can you take this away? I, I don’t feel safe with a gun in my house.” For some reason, the house is “his,” not his parents’.

Question for students (and subscribers): What would you add to the list? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

Your readership is much appreciated!